Susan E. Goodman

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About Me

A QUIZ ABOUT ME

A quiz? Hey, this isn't school! And, how can you take a quiz about me if the reason you've clicked on this section is that you want to learn about me? Great question. It's good to ask questions. Here's the quiz. Scroll down for the answers below. No cheating!

1. I was born and raised here:

#1 #2 #3

2. This is a picture of:

1. Me reading to my mother and my brother Jeff. I was very smart for my age.
2. Me reading to my mother and my father. He was very short for his age.
3. My mom reading to me and my brother (the two kids in our family).
4. I don't know these people! How did they get in my quiz?

3. My official "writing name" is Susan E. Goodman because I am pretentious (that means that I think using my middle initial makes me look smarter or more important).
TRUE or FALSE?

4. What was the silliest book I considered doing but never wrote?

Where the Wild Things Aren't

Pilgrims in Space

I Hate Candy, Who Doesn't?

Good Night, Spoon (or Fork, I couldn't make up my mind!)

5. The strangest place you can find a book of mine is:

In a bookstore.

In a bathroom in New York City's Bronx Zoo.

In libraries across the country.

On the #39 bus in Boston where people read it and then leave it for the next passenger that doesn't have another book or newspaper.

6. Who is writing this book?

Susan E. Goodman

The cat (also known as Rayne), I am only taking dictation.

7. I write because:

It's one of the few jobs you can do in your pajamas.

I can keep learning about stuff that interests me for my whole life.

Since I am interested in cool stuff, I can help kids get interested too.

Since I work for myself, I can sometimes play hookey and go to the movies in the daytime. (But then I have to make up the writing time later, for example, ON THE WEEKEND WHEN EVERYONE ELSE IS HAVING FUN.).

Some of my best creative moments have been captured and make into a book. I can hold them in my hand.

Other people can hold them in their hands too–especially kids.

It can be really hard work, but so exciting when you are on a roll.

All of the above.

NO PEEKING AT THE ANSWERS UNTIL YOU ARE THROUGH!

THE ANSWERS

1. The answer is #3. I was born in Detroit and people from Michigan often use their hand to show other Michiganders which part of the state they are talking about. Just look at this map of the state and you can see why. It looks like a hand or a mitten. If we want to show both parts of the state (the Upper and Lower Peninsulas), we run out of fingers to point with, but here's how we do it.

2. The answer is #3. Jeff and I were lucky. My parents were always reading–by themselves and to us. Research shows that being read to and seeing people around you reading helps make you a reader too. It worked for us!

3. The answer is FALSE, very false. I do think using my middle initial looks pretentious and I hate that. But if you want to know why I do it, just go to Google and type "Susan Goodman" into the search box. There are doctors (many), a cook, a TV reporter in Connecticut, a musician who calls herself Sooz on Sax, and that's just the beginning. There are also a few other Susan Goodmans, who are authors. So I had to add the E., which stands for Elizabeth, so you'd be able to find me.

4. This was a hard one; the answer is #2. One day, I was working on a book about Pilgrims with an editor of mine, Lori Dibble Collins. It had been a long day and we were getting slaphappy by the end. We started joking about what the next book in the series should be. After a lot of laughing, we came up with our favorite.

5. The answer is #2, a bathroom in the Bronx Zoo. Another tough question, isn't it? When the Bronx Zoo created an eco-restroom, with all sorts of Earth-friendly, energy-saving features, it also decided to decorate the place with facts and illustrations from my books, The Truth About Poop and Gee Whiz: It's All About Pee. They invited me to the grand opening. A little bizarre, but fun and quite an honor.

6. If Rayne were taking the quiz, she'd say the answer was #2. She likes "working" with me. And when she gets mad about not getting enough attention, she rubs her head on the keyboard. (PS. The answer is #1.)

7. That's right, #8.

SCORING : If you got anywhere from 1 to 7 answers right: You are very smart!